Digital Accessibility Progress Report
Colorado HB21-1110 is legislation requiring state and local government entities to ensure their digital content is accessible to individuals with disabilities. HB21-1110 goes into effect on July 1, 2024.
Atlas is moving forward to meet requirements per Colorado HB24-1454, which allows for a one-year extension of the deadline for public agencies to comply with digital accessibility standards if the public agency demonstrates a good faith effort toward compliance.
Progress reports and updates about this work will be shared on this page as they become available.
Accessibility Standards Applied
Atlas has developed accessibility technical standards with the intent of providing enterprise standard configurations for technologies that provide service to those with disabilities, in accordance with the technical standards provided by:
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1; Level AA or higher
Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Chapters 3,4,6
OIT Adopted Rules Establishing Technology Accessibility Standards, 8 CCR 1501-11;
and following C.R.S. § 24-85-101 to 24-85-104, ARTICLE 85
Other Accessibility Considerations
Although our goal is WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance, we may also apply some Level AAA Success Criteria or WCAG 2.2 Level AA conformance criteria as appropriate to make digital content more usable.
Our Efforts: Progress-to-Date Report
Atlas is committed to providing equitable access to all Coloradans. Our ongoing accessibility effort works towards the day when all Atlas services, programs, and activities are accessible, providing equal access to information and services to all Coloradans.
To that end, Atlas is creating a plan to prioritize, evaluate, remediate, and continuously improve every digital touchpoint within our services, programs, and activities. Below, you will find some of the measures Atlas is undertaking.
2024-2025 Progress to Report
February-June 2024:
Team meetings to learn about HB21-1110. Start to identify department roles. Meetings included the Executive Director, Communications Specialist, and IT Operations Manager.
July-December 2024:
Ongoing research on HB21-1110 and other schools' approaches.
Communications Specialist started training in Digital Accessibility.
Engaged with vendors that specialize in accessibility, specifically Monsido to review website content.
Identifying leadership at all three schools to help bring Atlas into compliance by July 1, 2025.
Developing training for Atlas staff to educate the organization on the existing accessibility laws and best practices.
Working to create an Equally Effective Alternate Access Plan (EEAAP).
Created a stipend position to assist in the remediation of existing PDFs, and train staff on digital accessibility guidelines.
Subscribed to a website accessibility platform that scans our digital content for accessibility non-compliance issues.
Working with the web host to remediate non-compliance issues on the website.
Meetings with the director of operations and human resources to discuss how digital accessibility affects their current workflow and production.
Began reaching out to vendors to receive their digital accessibility statements, and created a filing system to track responses.
Held training with key leadership to introduce digital accessibility, why it's important, and what the next steps are for Atlas to work toward compliance.
Introduced a two-level approach for digital accessibility compliance.
January-June 2025:
Hired digital accessibility stipend role.
Attended Allyant trainings to remediate PDFs.
Subscribed to Allyant's SiteScan service to scan the website for accessibility issues.
Transferred CMS to Apptegy, which ensures digital accessibility guidelines are in place before web page creation.
Informed staff of new accessibility procedures for SY25-26.
Accessibility Maturity
Atlas is at the following accessibility maturity level for 2024:
Stage: Early stages of Integrage
Criteria: Formal policies, processes, or procedures are defined, integrated, and communicated.
Why are we at this stage?
We’ve made progress since HB21-1110 has passed, considering substantial challenges to Atlas:
Staff are beginning to integrate digital accessibility practices when creating content.
Steps are being taken to train staff and procure resources.
Limited budget for our program: Minimal additional dollars to put toward this effort.
One recently hired (Jan 2024) full-time employee who manages the website, documentation, and communications.
Two full-time employees manage procurement, contracts, and vendor management.
Organizational measures
Define an accessibility roadmap including timeline, goals, roles, responsibilities, and policies as needed for our organization.
Include accessibility in our procurement processes.
Conduct and maintain an inventory of technology, then prioritize, validate through testing, and address issues that are found in the current technology.
Create and implement a plan for providing reasonable accommodation and modification until the technology can be made accessible.
Provide contact information and support for receiving accessibility feedback and accommodation requests.
Hire people with accessibility skills and train current employees on providing accessible services and technology.
Incorporate accessibility requirements into our technology development stages, including design, development, user experience, and quality assurance.
Create and post on front-facing web pages a progress-to-date report that is updated quarterly and demonstrates concrete and specific efforts toward compliance with the OIT rules. (This is required to comply with the requirements of HB24-1454 through July 1, 2025)
Formal approval
Lori Martin-McDowell
Atlas Communications Department
Last updated on June 13, 2025
Progress & Updates
This Progress-to-Date Report is a living document. Atlas will review this report quarterly. Examples of events that would require a review and update to this document include, but are not limited to:
Changes to the Complaint or Accessibility Request processes.
When a new individual or organization is made responsible for ADA Coordination tasks.
Updates include reporting on the progress of remediation milestones and any changes to the processes described. This report will also be updated to reflect any changes to relevant laws, regulations, and standards.
Helpful Links: